AT Pro

[bxlarry]

Hi All
I think I made a mistake when I bought my fisher F4. I do mainly salt water beach hunting (South Florida).
I'm thinking about trading up to an AT Pro, however I have heard conflicting reports concerning its use
in salt water. Some say no, others say yes it will balance. Would appreciate any advice.

 

[ajaj]

Look, I love my AT Pro on land and in dry salt water beach sand, but it can be very chatty in wet sand, even when ground balanced properly. For wet sand and submerged in fresh and salt water, I use a Minelab Excalibur. Yes, it cost about three times as much as the AT Pro, but it's worth it, especially for salt water wet sand and underwater. Others may chime in for its salt water use.

aj

 

[mudslingers8]

I use the Pro on land & fresh water, I use the Excal in saltwater & wet sand. But I have used the Pro in saltwater submerged chest deep & found Jewelry, clad etc. It is chatty & not as deep as the Excal. The point is it can be done if you can only afford 1 machine. Also a friend has the Pro on my recommendation he is 75 works the wet sand regularly & does well in clad & jewelry. We are located on the west coast of the Gulf.
Excal 10 - 12" wet sand
Pro 4 -6" wet sand

Mudslinger

 

[bxlarry]

Thanks for the input. Still in a quandry

 

[flyin-lowe]

If you are primarily hunting beaches and wet sand (salt water) I would suggest a different machine. If you mainly hunted in land and wanted a machine that you could take into the surf on occaission I think the AT would be a great choice.

 

[firstring]

Ground balancing in salt water/wet salt sand and finding what you want to be finding in salt water environment are two different things. Tie a string on a ladies gold ring and bury it in the wet salt sand at 4 to inches to 6 inches. Try it out for yourself and see the results or lack thereof for any single frequency VLF detector, not just the AT Pro. I'm sure there are dealers in your area that will allow you take a test spin with one, right?

 

[Night Crawler]

Some great advice given so far bxlarry.

You can't beat the AT Pro for what it offers and it's price. The important thing to think about, is what will be the conditions you will mostly hunt in and your location (where you live). Up here where I live (West Coast), I don't have the problems other people have with the AT Pro.

I balance out at 82-86 in Salt Water and dug as deep as 8" with the 8x11 coil at the waters edge and about 6" with 5x8 coil. The AT Pro may go deeper, but that's just where those targets were sitting (with a good signal) when I dug them.

The rest of the time I relic hunt in a high mineral environment and the AT Pro will balance out at 92-94 in it with no problems. Again, the important thing here is your location and the environment you will be metal detecting in. I have read some posts of other people having some issues in different parts of the country/world.

As good as what the AT Pro is, you need to think about and take that into consideration that as well bxlarry.

 

[Night Crawler]

Hmm, that last line I posted above sounds pretty "drunk" to me.

Sorry about that bxlarry I just got home and logged in here after spending 13 hours on the road when i made that post.

It should have said:

As good as what the AT Pro is (and it is good), you need to think about this investment, do some research (you tube is a great place to start) and then decide what's best for you.

 

[firstring]

Here on the West Coast where I live loaded with black sand, it can ground balance in wet salt sand and salt water. Can it find it seperate those metal targets I am seeking from the ground/ No. It may seperate the metal targets you are seeking, but not what I am searching for. People are going to be awfully disappointed buying an AT Pro for salt water usage based on your claims. Your first sentence is dead on. If it works for you in salt water, great. It certainly doesn't work for me.

Some great advice given so far bxlarry.

You can't beat the AT Pro for what it offers and it's price. The important thing to think about, is what will be the conditions you will mostly hunt in and your location (where you live). Up here where I live (West Coast), I don't have the problems other people have with the AT Pro.

I balance out at 82-86 in Salt Water and dug as deep as 8" with the 8x11 coil at the waters edge and about 6" with 5x8 coil. The AT Pro may go deeper, but that's just where those targets were sitting (with a good signal) when I dug them.

The rest of the time I relic hunt in a high mineral environment and the AT Pro will balance out at 92-94 in it with no problems. Again, the important thing here is your location and the environment you will be metal detecting in. I have read some posts of other people having some issues in different parts of the country/world.

As good as what the AT Pro is, you need to think about and take that into consideration that as well bxlarry.

 

[Night Crawler]

Just to clarify here firstring I directed my posts to the person who started this thread.

"Everything" I posted about the AT Pro and it's performance here on the West Coast isn't a "Claim" as you stated but a "Fact" and I "do" have the videos to prove it .

So when you say from what I posted, people will be disappointed? On the contrary, 2 more people here on the "West Coast" bought the AT Pro after talking with me and seeing for themselves how well my AT Pro performed on the "West Coast", And it separates targets just fine in "any" condition here in B.C.. Their still thanking me when i see them. We "do" have Black Sands up here as well if you weren't aware of it.

So speak for yourself firstring and don't put me or the AT Pro itself down because you can't get yours to work properly for whatever reason ok?

So lets move on..

Here on the West Coast where I live loaded with black sand, it can ground balance in wet salt sand and salt water. Can it find it seperate those metal targets I am seeking from the ground/ No. It may seperate the metal targets you are seeking, but not what I am searching for. People are going to be awfully disappointed buying an AT Pro for salt water usage based on your claims. Your first sentence is dead on. If it works for you in salt water, great. It certainly doesn't work for me.

Some great advice given so far bxlarry.

You can't beat the AT Pro for what it offers and it's price. The important thing to think about, is what will be the conditions you will mostly hunt in and your location (where you live). Up here where I live (West Coast), I don't have the problems other people have with the AT Pro.

I balance out at 82-86 in Salt Water and dug as deep as 8" with the 8x11 coil at the waters edge and about 6" with 5x8 coil. The AT Pro may go deeper, but that's just where those targets were sitting (with a good signal) when I dug them.

The rest of the time I relic hunt in a high mineral environment and the AT Pro will balance out at 92-94 in it with no problems. Again, the important thing here is your location and the environment you will be metal detecting in. I have read some posts of other people having some issues in different parts of the country/world.

As good as what the AT Pro is, you need to think about and take that into consideration that as well bxlarry.

 

[fongu]

I have no experience with salt water or the surf, but if my At/Pro works half as good in salt water as it does in fresh water, I would be happy. I would hope in pro zero mode and sensitivity 2 bars down from the top it would find targets deeper than 6 inches. I have tried the 5 X 8 coil and I like it, but the 8.5 X 11 works better for me. Good luck with the detector you buy and happy hunting.
I do have better finds detecting parallel than perpendicular to the water. I know that's in the manual and why it would make any difference is beyond me, but it does.

 

[artman60]

I'm just gonna chime in and second what the first couple of gentlemen said. I have the Pro, love it, use it everywhere, but the salt water beach, I also have an Excal for the beach (salt water only), only place I use it. It certainly isn't cheap, having both. I had a small windfall in January, no family financial needs at the time, and bought both units. If I could only have bought one unit, it would have been the Pro. One recommendation I make to all the new Pro users, I love the optional 8X5 coil, Less weight, better balance, and better signal separation (my humble opinion, I'm not an expert). To me, in the price range of the Pro, it's capabilities, especially the ability to use it in water, and rain, well I didn't have a second choice. Good luck, Artie

 

[Night Crawler]

I agree artman60, the Excal is a very good beach machine no doubt about that.

I realize as good as what the AT Pro is, it's not the end all do all machine, but it sure isn't "useless" as some people make it out to be either. The only statements I make about the AT Pro is from my own personal experiences with it, that's all. Am I impressed with the AT Pro? Yes I am.

I just don't have the problems I see other people having with it at the salt water beach's. Having said that, I do realize, salt water conditions can be a whole lot different in other parts of the country/world which could/can affect the AT Pros performance from what I have read.

As ,mentioned above, research is a key factor in deciding what machine would be best suited for your needs. Whether it's the AT Pro or the Excal, the important thing is being happy you made right decision for the area your hunting in.

I'm way off topic here, so I'll leave it at that.

 

[artman60]

Nightcrawler, I think we're kinda saying the same thing from a different angle, that's all. I think the Pro is one of the best all around units out there, and in it's price range it's kinda alone. I think the Excal, and the CZ21 for that matter, are niche detectors made for one specific environment. I know I would rather take the Pro to a salt water beach, than to try and use the Excal on a lawn. If Bxlarry is looking for a unit, to use at one specific environment, maybe he could put some of the different units through some tests, see what works best down there. I went through this with my 1280x, discovered that the Excal would see targets that the 1280 went right over, only reason I ponied up the money for the Excal. The Pro did find me my first two gold rings ever, so you know it's always gonna have a warm fuzzy feeling from me! Also I think a pulse machine would need to be considered for a salt water beach. So back to the original question, will the Pro work in salt water? My experience is it will work better than any other unit in it's price range, but it may not be a better unit than a multifrequency or pulse unit at the beach, however they will cost more, a lot more in some cases. Bxlarry good luck with your research, and have fun doing it, don't get overwhelmed by all the advertising. Artie